The Desperate Hours **** (1955, Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March) – Classic Movie Review 1349

Director William Wyler’s 1955 thriller tells the archetypal tale of a gang of ruthless convicts on the run who commandeer a middle-class family’s house and terrorise the whole household. But, the obvious old question is, can the suburbanites fight back?

Joseph Hayes’s single-set Broadway play (loosely based on real events) probably worked well in the theatre, but here it seems very stagey, static and old fashioned. Hayes skilfully and lovingly adapts his play (and also novel) and won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.

Nevertheless, there is considerable tension, suspense and entertainment to be found in Wyler’s movie, and some of the scenes have real power. And certainly the performances compensate for everything, particularly that of Fredric March as Dan Hilliard, the anguished Middle American father-in-peril, who’s so good that he even upstages Humphrey Bogart’s tasty portrait of calculated malevolence as hard-bitten criminal Glenn Griffin.

Stagey and old fashioned it may be, but The Desperate Hours is still highly respected and fondly remembered though. And it was well regarded enough for a 1990 remake by director Michael Cimino with Mickey Rourke and Anthony Hopkins, which is so routine that it only served to enhance the reputation of this first version.

The original Broadway production had Paul Newman in the Bogart role, but Bogart was cast in the film as he was a much bigger star. The character was made older so that he could play the part.

Spencer Tracy was to star with Bogart, but the two friends both wanted top billing and Tracy withdrew. Tracy and Bogart only made one film together, John Ford’s Up the River (1930), the first feature for both actors, but Tracy was the star and Bogart just a supporting player. It’s a shame they never co-starred together.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1349

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